IGF declares these the best student-made games

These eight games are some of the best created by students from around the world - the talent of tomorrow (or err now). Lunch time cometh and most of the games are downloadable and free, so give'm a go.

They've all winners of the Independent Games Festival Student Showcase, bagging themselves $1000 and a pass to the Game Developers Conference in March. One of the games will also go on to win Best Student Game at the IGF awards proper at GDC.

What are the games, who's making them and where do they study (just in case you're interested in following that path)?

Museum of Simulation Technology: A puzzle game inspired by forced perspective (the sort of thing you see in photos where one person stands in another person's hand, but in reality is standing far in the distance). It's made by Albert Shih who studies at Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center in the US.

Risk of Rain: A hectic, side-scrolling platformer/shooter that gives you one life and challenges you to get as far as possible. It's made by Hopoo Games via the University of Washington and it's published by Chucklefish - the same publisher responsible for the very popular Starbound.

Symmetrain: A lovely looking, hand-drawn touchscreen puzzle game based around spotting the difference in two sides of countryside as the train you're on passes through the middle. It's a Dutch-German collaboration between students Phillip Beau (University of Amsterdam) and Daniel Goffin (University of Kassel).

Westerado: A Western! A pixelated action-adventure detective Western! Or, as the game's website bills it: "Legend of Zelda meets Cowboyana". It's made by Holland-based developer Ostrich Banditos, which is an excellent name.

Foiled: A two-player fighting game about soul theft. "Think Super Smash Bros. meets Nidhogg," explains the game's website. It's made by Gabe Cuzzillo, who's getting a bit tired of his film student course at New York University, and Aaron Taecker-Wyss, who's up in Canada.

Cyber Heist: A hacker and thief cooperative double-act, in which the former guides the latter to hidden futuristic secrets. Your goal: take on the US Department of Education and erase all record of student debt forever! The anarchists responsible are developer Hack 'n Hide, a team of 12 at the University of Utah.